After many years of renting a post office box in Plymouth, NH, I will be giving it up at the end of February. It will not be a great hardship as most of my business and personal communications take place electronically. But, I tried to renew my box rental today and after my experience with the United States Postal Service (USPS) today, I will never go back to supporting it ever again!!! It is not hard to see why the USPS is suffering as it is...
First, I would like to say that the workers at the Plymouth PO have been helpful and conscientious over the years that I have rented there. I hold no grudge, animosity or negative feelings toward them at all.
I tried to renew my rental on-line today and it was the most awful experience I have had in a long time. Just figuring out what to do on the website was confusing enough.) I even did my taxes today on-line and that experience was positive in every way. Went smoothly and my return is filed with a considerable amount of money coming my way. About $75 more through the software than when I had calculated it myself. So, the IRS better than the USPS? Who would have thought...
So, I went on-line to renew my PO Box and filled out all information correctly. I know I did. So after I paid $39 for six months on my credit card, a note on the website comes up that I have to show up with two forms of ID to complete the process. What?! So I call Plymouth and instead of the website renewing my PO Box that I have had for many years, it rented a different numbered box. So, Natalie at the Plymouth location gives me a telephone 800 number to call to straighten it out. I was on hold for 50 minutes before I got to speak to a human being. Told him, Tyrese, I remember the name because it's a character on Walking Dead, the situation. He says I need to go to the post office in Plymouth. I tell him I'm on the road, did the form on-line because I can't go to the Plymouth location. He says that he'll get back to me and without time for objection, after a maybe two minute conversation, puts me on hold where I listened to the same announcements as I had for the past 50 minutes before I spoke with him. The announcements which detail how wonderful the USPS is. Another 30 minutes on hold until I hung up,(total now of 80 minutes on hold), called the Plymouth PO and told them that if they could not fix my problem, I was stopping payment and ending my rental of the box. Told Natalie that I had nothing against the Plymouth workers but would not support the USPS any longer if not resolved. So, needless to say, I got no satisfaction through a very frustrating process and will no longer be using my PO Box after the end of February.
As I say, most of my communications are electronic and I don't need them...
I would like for the Postmaster General, whoever he or she is these days, to try and renew a post office box rental on-line and after figuring out how to do it, and then getting it messed up, through no fault of his/her own to try and fix the problem by calling USPS costumer service.
I can be reached j_moskow@plymouth.edu, mejyou@yahoo.com, on Facebook, or through this blog.
There, off my chest and deeper into the new millenium...
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